BarbedWire
by KelticDream13
Summary: Johnny gets caught by men who seek to teach him a lesson.
1. Default Chapter

Barbed-Wire  
  
Scott and Johnny had been at it since sunrise, stringing wire. One holding the  
wire taunt so that the other could hammer it tight into the wood post. Both men had their shirts  
off, as they worked in the mid day heat, sweat glistened on their upper bodies as they worked.  
  
A ranch hand came riding up, and looked at the brothers, and smiled. "Scott,  
Murdock wonts to see you." Scott nodded and let go of the wire as Johnny finished driving the  
nail in. He pulled off his gloves and grabbed the canteen, nodding at the hand, who rode off.   
  
He handed Johnny the canteen, watching his brother pour some of the cool  
water over his face, before drinking. Scott moved over to his horse and mounted. Johnny just  
smiled."Hey brother, found a way out of this hot tiring work huh?"  
  
"Well, you know me, Johnny, I do hate the dirty work. I was thinking of going  
into town and seeing that new girl that works in the mercantile store. Jenny isn't it?"  
  
"It is and you know it."Johnny smiled up at his brother. "But I already asked her  
out this Saturday night, for that dance."   
  
"You work fast, huh brother? I guess I will have to go see Susan or Melissa.  
But I can get a cold beer, and sit in the shade of the saloon. I will think of you slaving out here in  
the heat."  
  
"Thanks a lot Boston, I hope Murdock has something else in mind. Like  
pulling steers out of the mud, or washing a pig. Maybe even white washing the house." Johnny  
smiled and turned back to work, as his brother rode away.  
  
It was an hour later when Johnny sat down to eat the lunch he had brought  
along. The fried chicken was good to a hungry man. As was the sandwiches, and apple pie. He  
ate and watched the grass wave in the slight breeze, relaxing in the shade of the old tree.   
  
He sat dozing in the midday heat, when he felt something change, he came  
alert, yet gave no physical sign of it. He glanced out from under the brim of his hat, seeing  
nothing. But felt it, on the slight breeze. His gunfighter senses were screaming, and he listened.a  
few moments passed, and he got up and moved over to his horse, and ran his hand over  
Barrancas'nose, as he feed him one of the apples, he sharp eyes took in the area behind his horse.  
He moved back to the fence as he checked the other direction, he stride casual, as he moved.  
  
Pale ice blue eyes watched him, and the hatred ate at his insides for this man.  
He would get what he came for, his brother and he would see to it. He waited for his brother to  
get into position, and then they would strike. He smiled like the cougar in the chicken coop. He  
would soon eat of the fruits of his hatred. There would be nothing left of Johnny Madrid,but  
bones.  
  
Johnny worked as he waited for the usual for him to happen, he worked on the  
fence. As a rifle sounded, and a bullet struck, he fell to the ground, his vision dimming, and the  
pain in his head, making him sick. He heard horses riding up and tried to move, but his body  
didn't seem to understand his unspoken thoughts, and remained prone.  
  
Scott was not in town, drinking a cold beer as he had wished. Instead he was  
helping fix the corral that the new stallion had broken when he had staged a breakout with the  
mares. He wasn't too happy with this, no change at all. He removed the broken boards and threw  
them by the barn to be taken and use for kindling.  
  
Murdock came out and walked over to him,smiling at his oldest son."Scott, after  
you and Johnny finish with your work why don't you two take some time and go to town?"  
  
" I'll see what Johnny thinks about it.It's been a long day"  
  
"I guess it has,work on a ranch is never done. How about some lunch, before you  
start the rest of that?" Scott pulled off his gloves and smiled at his father.The two men walked to  
the house, Murdocks' hand on his sons' shoulder.  
  
Johnny awoke to a blinding headache, sharp pain everywhere. Opening his eyes he  
looked up into the icy blue eyes of the tall man who leaned over him, he instinctively tried to  
kick out, and pain ripped through his legs. The man laughed deep and dark.  
  
"Madrid, I finally got my hands on you." Johnny winced at the pain, as he saw and  
felt the barbed-wire wrapped around him.Now how to get out of it, and take care of these two  
men.  
  
"Jack, maybe we should just kill him and get out of here, someone might come  
by."  
  
"Shut up, Dan. We will do what we planned, and make him suffer first.Nice of  
Madrid to supply us with the barbed-wire."  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"You probably don't remember us, you killed so many, but you got in the way of our  
robbery over in Placerville. You see you are supposed to do gunfights, and us, why we do bank  
robberies. You are supposed to be one of the bad guys like us."  
  
"I am not a bad guy, like you."  
  
"Before we are done you may wish you were. After this no one will interfere in our  
robberies, they will know what we will do to them if they do."  
  
"Jack?" His brother turned to him.  
"What"  
  
"I never killed anybody before, and I don't won't to now, he can't defend himself  
either." Jack took a step towards his brother, and backhanded him.Dan lay looking up at his  
brother.  
  
"You going yeller? I said we fix him. Would you prefer I challenge him to a  
gunfight, idiot!"  
  
"No, you would lose, but couldn't you just beat him up, leave him like that, or  
something?"  
  
"Shut up stupid, just do what I said."  
  
Johnny lay listening to the two men fight. He didn't suppose they would get into it  
and kill each other. He was thinking hard, and still wasn't ready to give up yet. He would get out  
of this.   
  
  
"You know if you two kill me, you will hang, and my father will put a bounty of your  
head, everyone will be hunting you."  
  
"He's right Jack, I don't wont to hang!"Jack moved over to Johnny, and with his foot  
pushed Johnny over, and watched the man moan as the barbed-wire cut into his flesh.That shut   
him up for the moment. He turned back to his brother.  
  
Continued   
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Barbed-wire pt 2

Barbed- Wire pt 2  
  
Scott sat eating his lunch, and for some reason he couldn't get the feeling something was  
wrong out of his head. He was quiet, and Murdock found himself talking to the stone statue that  
he thought was his son.  
  
"Scott, is something wrong." asked Murdock as he put his hand on Scotts' shoulder.  
  
"I don't know Murdock I keep feeling something is wrong, and I need to get moving."  
  
"Well perhaps its just a need to finish your work?"  
  
"I doubt that" He threw down his napkin and go up from the table. He grabbed his hat  
and headed out the door. It was Johnny, he could feel it. Boy would Johnny think he was nuts if  
he was wrong, but he had better be sure.   
  
Johnny lay on the ground, gritting his teeth against the pain. Pain was everywhere. He  
was sure he would not wont to be near barbed wire ever again after this. He looked over at the  
two brothers. Dan lay on the ground his lips bloody, and his eye turning black. Jack stood over  
him and kicked dirt at him. Then turned to Johnny.  
  
He grabbed a post from the ground and using it he rolled Johnny across the ground.  
Enjoying the sight of the blood showing up in little pools all over his body. He most enjoyed the  
look on Johnnys' face as he tried and failed to hide the pain, or the small cry that escaped his lips.   
Johnnys' eyes met the icy blue ones, and the other man shivered at the hatred and the deadly  
promise in them. He knew he had to kill him and quick, he would be the one who died if he  
didn't.  
  
"Dan, get over here now." His brother got up and moved over to him. He wiped the  
blood on his sleeve, and looked at the man on the ground.   
  
"I'm sorry Madrid."  
  
"Shut up Dan, he deserves it."  
  
"No he doesn't. No man deserves to be put in that wire. It ain't human. Killing him,  
is one thing, but not that."  
  
"You won't hang if you let me go, Dan."   
  
"Unless you won't to end up like him, you will do what I say.You are my brother,  
not his."  
  
Scott was out of sight, but near enough to see what was happening to his brother.  
He was livid with anger. He felt like killing them slowly, and with barbed-wire. But he knew he  
couldn't do that, he had to act fast. He watched.  
  
Jack, pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Johnny."Now we will finish this, since  
this is the way you wont it Dan. I'll finish it." He turned back to Johnny. He looked into his eyes,  
and saw no fear,and he didn't beg for his life, as Jack had hoped.   
  
Just then a gunshot sounded, and Jack crumbled to the ground. Dan looked at his  
brother, watching his eyes glaze over. He backed up with his hand high. Scott moved over, still  
covering, Dan. He stopped by his brother. He glanced down at him, seeing the pain,and the  
gratefulness in his eyes. He turned to Dan.  
  
"You, if you won't to live, get those wire cutters and start cutting the wire off my  
brother." Dan moved over to the cutters, and spoke.  
  
"I wont cause any trouble, this wasn't my idea, it was my brothers."  
  
Scott leaned down by Johnny."Boy you sure do get into trouble when I am gone."  
  
"Yeah, but at least only one of us is in this wire. Thanks Boston."  
  
"No problem Johnny my boy, but you owe my a bullet, and a beer."  
  
"A deal, when I get out.." he winched in pain..."of this."   
  
Dan cut wire, and pulled it away from Johnny, and Scott felt every pull  
himself. He felt the pain as he watched the wire pulled out of his brothers' flesh. Saw how it cut,  
and snagged the skin. It seems to take hours for Dan to finish, but only twenty minutes. When the  
last of it was cut and away. Scott motioned Dan away.   
  
Scott leaned over his brother, and thought his brother was unconsious since he  
didn't move, but he opened his eyes. Scott pulled him up and moved him into the shade. Opeing  
his canteen, he gave Johnny a drink. Then damped the neckerchief he wiped his face.He had to  
get Johnny home and quick.He'd use the wagon that held the supplies.  
  
The wagon ride home was agony to Johnny. No matter how he lay it hurt, and  
the wagons movement made it worse. Scott clenched his teeth at the sound of the moans coming  
from the back on the wagon as he drove.   
  
The wagon came to a stop in front of the house, and Scott was glad to see  
some of the hands moving over. They all looked at Johnny and then to Scott, then to Dan, who  
was tied up next to Scott. They wonted to hang the man. Scott shook his head at them, knowing  
their thoughts.  
  
Murdock came outside and over to the wagon. His eyes misted as he looked  
at his youngest. He put his hand on his foot. Johnnys' eyes met his for a moment. The men gently  
as they could lifted the young man and carried him into the house and up the stairs to his room.  
There they placed him on his bed. Scott and Murdock began to undress him, just as Teresa came  
into the room, she had several bottles and towels in her hands. A bowl of hot water as well. Her  
eyes on Johnny. Murdock looked up.  
  
"Thanks honey, we'll take care of him."He said as he saw her expression. She left the  
room. Johnny clothes were torn and as the tried to gently remove his shirt, the fabric stuck to his  
wounds and pulled the little jagged edges of his flesh. He shut his eyes tight.  
  
When they had him undressed, they could see there were hundreds of ragged cuts, and  
torn flesh everywhere. Several places were large and long and would need stitching. They looked  
at each other over the bed, their eyes held for a moment and then they turned back to the man on  
the bed. Each with the towels and water they began to bath the wounds, and clean them, as  
Johnny at the end of his indurance passed out, his hands relaxing their death grip on the sheets.  
  
Murdock and Scott were waiting downstairs for the doctor to finish his work. Both  
were sitting drinking coffee, their eyes glued to the stairs. When finally the doctor came down.  
He saw their look and he smiled.  
  
"He'll be fine, after a long rest for a few days in bed, and those wound kept clean. I  
gave him something to make him sleep. With those wounds he will have trouble resting, so I left  
some more powders by the bed for him. It's lucky for him, you found him when you did. That cut  
on his neck and the one on his leg, a little deeper and he would have bled to death."  
  
:"Thanks Doc."  
  
"No problem."  
  
Scott ran up the stairs to his brothers room, and sat in the chair by his bed. He  
reached out and touched his brothers' arm. He had almost lost him, if it hadn't been for that  
feeling, he wouldn't have made it in time. He looked up and said a silent thank you.  
  
When he looked down he saw Johnnys' eyes were open and on him. They were  
a little glassy from the medication. He smiled, and Scott reached out and squeezed his hand.  
  
The end.  
  
  
  
  



End file.
